The Lumineers Automatic
Released Feb 14, 2025 Dualtone Music Group
Consensus forming 4 professional reviews Updated Oct 2, 2026
Mostly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 4 professional reviews. The Lumineers's Automatic arrives as a lean, live-studio statement that trades the band’s usual big-chorus polish for intimate, exposed performances.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
You’re All I Got
1 critic mention
Keys on the Table
1 critic mention
“You’re all I got,” Wesley Schultz plaintively pleads on the Paul McCartney-style ‘Keys On The Table” — Hot Press
Automatic
1 critic mention
“while ‘Automatic’ and ‘Better Day’ forgo The Lumineers’ multi-tracked vocals of yore” — Hot Press
Full critic consensus
The Lumineers's Automatic arrives as a lean, live-studio statement that trades the band’s usual big-chorus polish for intimate, exposed performances. Across the record, stripped production and a sense of vulnerability steer songs like “You’re All I Got” and “Keys on the Table” toward raw emotional payoff, while wry humor surfaces in blunt cuts such as “Asshole”.
Professional reviews find merit in that immediacy: the collection earned a 73.5/100 consensus score across 4 professional reviews, with critics consistently pointing to the live studio recording approach and Wesley Schultz’s unadorned tenor as the album’s organizing strengths. Opener “Same Old Song” and the title track “Automatic” exemplify how pared-back arrangements let lyrical detail and vocal texture carry impact, making these among the best songs on Automatic according to reviewers.
While praise centers on emotional clarity and restrained arrangements, some critics note that the minimalism can verge on austerity, leaving moments that previously relied on bigger production feeling underpowered. Still, the critical consensus suggests Automatic is a worthwhile, if more intimate, chapter in The Lumineers’ catalog, one that rewards listeners who value candid songwriting and live immediacy.
Read on for full reviews and track-by-track observations that explain why critics call out “You’re All I Got”, “Keys on the Table”, “Same Old Song”, and “Automatic” as standout moments.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Same Old Song
Asshole
Strings
Automatic
You're All I Got
Plasticine
Ativan
Keys on the Table
Better Day
Sunflowers
So Long
Get the next albums worth your time.
Critic-backed picks in one clean digest. No clutter.
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Ho
Critic's Take
The Lumineers sound unusually exposed on Automatic, Schultz’s unadorned tenor giving weight to ballads like “You’re All I Got” and the Paul McCartney-styled “Keys on the Table”. The record pivots between striking vulnerability and a searing wit, so songs such as “Asshole” land with blunt, memorable candor. There is a live-studio immediacy throughout - opener “Same Old Song” shoots out of the gate and “Automatic” pares back multi-tracked harmonies for stark power. Overall, the best tracks on Automatic are those that foreground Schultz’s naked voice and the band’s newfound restraint, making them the album’s emotional centerpieces.
Key Points
-
The best song(s) foreground Schultz’s unadorned voice and vulnerability, making “You’re All I Got” the album’s emotional high point.
-
Automatic’s core strength is its stripped, live-studio immediacy that pairs stark vocals with moments of searing wit.
Themes
